Captain Clarence Jeffries V.C. & Private William Currey V.C. MuralPrint Page

The mural commemorates Victoria Cross recipients, Clarence Smith Jeffries and William Matthew Currey.

Clarence Smith Jeffries VC (26 October 1894 – 12 October 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. He was posthumously decorated with the Victoria Cross following his actions in the First Battle of Passchendaele during the First World War, in which he led several parties of men in an attack that eventuated in the capture of six machine guns and sixty-five prisoners, before being killed himself by machine gun fire.

William Matthew Currey VC was an Australian politician in the Parliament of New South Wales,  a labourer and railway worker, a citizen soldier and, whilst a member of the First AIF, an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. On 1 September 1918 in the attack on Péronne, France, Private Currey rushed forward under heavy machine-gun fire and captured single-handed a 77mm field gun which had been holding up the advance, killing all the crew. Later, when the advance was checked by an enemy strong-point he crept round the flank and engaged the post with a Lewis gun, then rushed it, causing many casualties. Subsequently he volunteered to carry orders for withdrawal to an isolated company, doing so under heavy fire and bringing back valuable information.

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